


even in death

by Alley_Walk (AlleyWalk_writes), Tod der Fata Morgana (AlleyWalk_writes)



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Ghosts, Angst, Disabled Character, F/F, F/M, Gen, Ghost Powers, Ghost!Allen, Innocence Animals, M/M, Mind Link, Multi, Okay A Lot, POC Allen Walker, Platonic Romance, Polyamory, Revelations, Survivor Guilt, The Ot4 is basically all together but some are closer than others, Trans Allen Walker, Violence, a bit Danny Phantom inspired, silent communication, you don't need to have seen Danny Phantom to read this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2019-10-16
Packaged: 2020-08-14 09:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 13,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20189806
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyWalk_writes/pseuds/Alley_Walk, https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlleyWalk_writes/pseuds/Tod%20der%20Fata%20Morgana
Summary: Allen struggles to his feet, feeling as if his body is moving through molasses. With a sharp tug he finally stands, feeling something break inside him, like a string being pulled taut before snapping completely.The moon shines down on him, casting everything into shades of grey. The bamboo stalks stand silent and watchful around him, casting long shadows across the ground. Allen looks down at his handsOr hand, to be more precise.Because his left arm is gone. Just... gone. And that's not the only thing that's strange. His hand is glowing with a soft green light, his whole body in fact.And then he looks down and sees the face of his own dead body staring back at him.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all!
> 
> This is an idea that's been niggling at the back of my mind for awhile now. I wasn't sure where I wanted to go with it at first or even if I wanted to use it... but it refused to leave me alone, so here it is! 
> 
> The beginning is sort of a spin-off of one of my other fics, _dead man's face,_ it just seemed like the best place for Allen to meet his end, rather than just making up a new way for him to die. 
> 
> If you don't know what I'm talking about, you'll find out soon enough!
> 
> Enjoy! ^^

**night one • powerless**

* * *

Allen struggles to his feet, feeling as if his body was moving through molasses. With a sharp tug, he feels something break inside him, like a string that was suddenly pulled taut before snapping completely. He finally stands on his own two feet, looking up at the moon hanging high above him. The bamboo stalks around him stand as silent sentries, casting dark shadows across the ground.

_ What happened? _

_ Tyki was here, and he… but I'm right here, so what…? _

_ Could I have survived that? _

Allen looks over at his left arm. And it's… it's _ gone. _ His left arm is gone. But that isn't the only thing thing that's strange.

Because Allen is glowing. Literally glowing. A soft green light surrounds him, shifting and changing like fire. And then Allen looks down and sees the face of his own dead body staring up at him, blue eyes glassy and vacant. Allen’s eyes widen and he steps back, out of his body.

“What…? What the...” Allen stares down at the body. It's… it's him. And it's definitely dead. He looks down at his hands. His _ glowing _ hands. 

It’s still not sinking in.

He… he can't really be dead, can he?

He's standing right here.

Except, Allen notices with the chill of ice water trickling down his spine, he's not breathing. He gasps in a breath of air and nearly cries out in relief when the oxygen enters his lungs. 

For how long wasn't he breathing?

Allen looks down at his hand, the deep brown skin now holding an ethereal glow.

What's happening to him? He can't really be dead, can he? But looking down at the dead body in front of him, a sinking feeling in his gut, he wonders if he really can.

“You poor kid.” A female voice says from behind him, and Allen whirls around. A girl with orange hair and gray eyes with odd amorphous hands stands before him, a sad look on her face. She sighs. “It’s always the young ones. What am I gonna tell Bak?”

“What do you mean? Miss?” Allen asks, reaching for her.

But she’s already turning away, and Allen cries out as his hand goes right through her. “Sorry kid. But this isn’t your fight anymore. There’s nothing more you can do.” 

Allen looks at the stump where his left arm used to be, swallowing hard, and then looks back and clenches his fist. “I don’t believe that. If this isn’t my fight, then what did I work so hard for?! What did I _ die _ for? There has to be something I can do.”

The woman looks back at him and smiles, her eyes sad. “Try your best, then. I won’t stop you.”

Allen brings up his hand and clenches his fist in front of his chest. “I will.” He says determinedly.

And inside him, a fire blooms.

* * *

Allen is sitting on the ground, looking down at the face of his former body. The blood has long cooled underneath it, however the scent of blood never reaches Allen's nose. The wind blows throughout the clearing, making the bamboo reeds rattle against each other as the wind whispers through the trees. Despite this, no wind plays across Allen's face or hair. It simply blows right through him, as if he wasn't even there.

He should really go find his friends. However he can't stop himself from hesitating, the hopelessness and powerlessness of it all clutching at his heart like a vice.

How can he help his friends like this? He can't affect anything in the physical world. He should know. He'd tried everything to touch his body, to touch anything around him. He had phased right through all of it, in fact the only thing he didn't seem to phase through was the ground.

…How can he keep walking like this? 

Allen blinks and looks up as a shape rises up from his dead body, coalescing into a person that pulls themselves up with a grunt. Allen's nonexistent heart stops in his chest. The person in front of him appears to be male, with dark spiky curls, grey skin and sharp golden eyes, the stigma standing out starkly on his forehead. He glows with a soft purple light, his clothes looking old and travel worn, unlike Allen's Exorcist clothes, which look brand new. 

That was _ inside him...? _

The man's sharp eyes land on him. He raises an eyebrow. "Well you look a lot more different than I remember."

Allen frowns, getting to his feet. "What are you talking about? Just… who are you?"

The man scowls. "What do you mean? I'm Neah, you idiot. Surely you couldn't have forgotten…" Neah looks down at his hands and jumps. "Ah! What the fuck?! Why the hell am I _ glowing?" _

Hesitating, Allen says, "you're a ghost." He sighs, scratching at his cheek nervously.

Neah turns, blinking at him. "You're kidding me." He says incredulously.

Allen's a bit incredulous himself, though more about the fact that he's having an actual civil conversation with a Noah than about being dead at this point. 

Allen shakes his head.

Neah looks down at himself again, then up at Allen, a scowl on his face. "You've screwed up royally, then. The one thing I asked you to do, to keep my memory _ safe _, and what do you do? You get yourself killed instead!"

Allen scowls himself, clenching his fist. "You didn't ask me to do anything! Whatever happened to you, it isn't my fault!"

Neah stops, frowning. "You… you aren't him."

_ Aren't who? _ Allen wonders.

Neah half turns away from him, flapping a hand dismissively. "Well, whatever. I can't change it, so I might as well go have some fun."

Neah turns and begins to walk away. "Wait!" Allen calls. "Where are you going?"

Neah turns back to look at him and shoots him a self satisfied smile. "To go haunt my brother. Where else?"

Allen blinks, and he's gone.

Allen looks down at the ground, then up at the lightening sky. He hesitates, then clenches his fists in determination. 

_ Lenalee. _

_ Lavi. _

_ Krory. _

Allen turns and leaves his body behind. He has friends to find.

* * *

  


The sun is rising by the time he finds the ship. It looks good as new, which doesn’t seem right until his eyes land on the newest Exorcist within their party. “Miranda!” Allen exclaims with a smile, running over towards them.

But they all completely ignore him, talking amongst themselves.

“I just can’t believe it. He seemed so s-strong!” Miranda sobs.

Lenalee nods with a tremulous smile, wiping tears off her face even as they roll down her cheeks. “I know. I can’t believe it either.”

From their cabin, Krory’s bereaved sobs could be heard emanating all throughout the ship. 

“...you guys?” Allen asks, uncertain.

“Guys, c’mon. We have to be strong, for Allen’s sake.” Lavi says, placing a hand on each of their shoulders with a smile. “He wouldn’t want us crying over him, would he?”

Lenalee laughs wetly. “Of course not. He’s Allen, after all.” 

They’re grieving for him. They think he’s… completely gone.

“C’mon, guys. Let’s go see if Krorykins is alright.” Everyone gets up and walks past him towards the Exorcist’s cabin. The door shuts behind them, and Allen slumps, sitting down on the deck of the ship. 

They're grieving. And it's his fault. And the worst part is that he has to watch, powerless to stop it.

Powerless.

That's never been a word he's liked.

* * *

As time passed aboard the ship, Allen gave into his new hobby. It was, to put it quite simply, spying. Allen gave people their privacy, but other than that, he had quite a bit of fun following sailors around going about their business. He learned each sailor's name and each of their shifts, and thought himself quite smart until he slipped while Henry was on mopping duty, sending him falling overboard.

With the crashing waves rushing towards him, all he could think was that he really didn't want to land in the water. His body jolts to a stop, now floating just above the waves. Allen blinks, looking down into the depths below. He gulps, glancing around for the ship. It's already a good distance away, and alarm pulses through Allen's nonexistent veins. 

“Okay, just like walking.” Allen tells himself, and takes a step forward. And another. And another. Soon he realizes that he’s literally walking on air. He breaks into a run, and soon catches up with the ship, diving back over the railing and into safety. He lies on the deck of the ship, a grin on his face. Then a sailor steps through his chest, and he yelps, phasing through the deck. He hits the floor with no noise to accompany his fall, getting up with a sigh. At least he can’t feel pain anymore.

“Anita, are you sure you want to do this?” Allen looks over to see Mahoja and Anita sitting together on a loveseat, Anita in the bigger woman’s lap while she brushed her fingers gently through her hair. 

Allen feels as though he’s infringed on something he shouldn’t have, and is about to leave when Anita answers. “The Exorcists need out help, Mahoja. We can’t just leave them with nothing.”

Mahoja wraps her arms around her. “You know, we’re probably going to die on this voyage. Us, and every last one of our crewmen.”

Anita kisses her jaw. “There’s no use regretting what we can’t change, Mahoja.” She says with a sad smile. “All we can do is make this voyage last.”

Allen’s heard enough. Taking a step upwards, he walks up into the air and ascends through the ceiling and back into open air. After that he does some experimenting._ Can I just… float? _ Allen wonders one day, on a particularly breezy day. Standing on a packaging crate, he taps his lips in thought. How had he done it before? Well, it had been more of a strong wish not to drown. And he _ had _ been floating, he realizes. It had been him who decided that walking was how it worked.

Taking a deep breath to fortify himself, he pushes off of the crate and into the air. He gives an excited whoop as he ascends into the air, and starts doing laps around the ship, laughing all the while. He feels something weird going on with his legs and glances back only to see that his legs have merged together to form a ghostly tail. 

He screams in surprise when he flies straight into the rigging, the ropes breaking with an audible snap._ It broke? How? _ Terrified screams echo below him, and Allen’s eyes widen. There are two sailors that must have been on the rigging when Allen hit it, now falling to either death or possibly great injury. 

Before Allen knows what he’s doing, he’s streaking after them. He flies as fast as he can, the wind that he can no longer feel going right through him. He catches the first sailor he reaches, awkwardly slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry. And then it’s like the whole world changes. He can feel the wind on his face, and the weight and the not-feeling of the sailor on top of him, his body suddenly feeling weighed down and heavy. Allen shakes his head to clear it, flying desperately to reach the other sailor. But how is he going to catch him? He only has one arm! 

“Extend!” And then Lavi is there with the handle of his hammer extended, catching the other sailor with his free arm. He looks back at Miranda, standing in the doorway and watching with wide eyes. “Are you doing this, Miranda?” Lavi asks, pointing with his hand still holding onto the end of his hammer.

Miranda shakes her head. “N-No. I can’t do that.”

Lavi frowns over towards Allen, the handle of his hammer shrinking as he lowers to the ground. Allen does the same, gently floating his cargo to the deck of the ship. He sets him down gently, and the sailor looks up at him. Allen realizes that he can’t be older than twelve or thirteen. “What are you?” He asks in confusion. Allen smiles and ruffles his hair. The kid laughs. “Hey!” He bats away Allen’s hand with a smile, and Allen grins. The kid looks down at the ground, his dark eyes nervous yet grateful. “Thank you for, um, saving me.”

“You’re welcome.” Allen says, even though he’s pretty sure he won’t hear it. He squeezes the kid’s shoulder and walks away.

* * *

  


All of the Exorcists are currently sitting in the dining hall, or the dining hull as some people have dubbed it. It’s a small and quaint room filled with tables and cooking food, with just enough space for everyone considering how the sailors switched shifts. Room has been made for the Exorcists to sit down and enjoy the food. Or, what constituted as food on a ship at sea. Which mostly consisted of bitter ale and stew of mysterious origin. But Lavi wasn’t complaining. He’s had worse.

Lavi just wishes this cold spell would blow over. He’s been cold for days, and though he can find the occasional spot of warmth, it’s getting a little annoying. The crew members have been complaining about it too, now that Lavi thinks about it.

“Are you okay, Miranda?" Lenalee asks worriedly. 

"Yes, I'm fine. A-And don't worry about me, you should be more worried about yourself! No, wait…" Miranda says, horrified mutterings being said under her breath. It makes Lavi wonder just what exactly she's saying.

"It's okay, Miranda. I understood what you meant." Lenalee says with a sad smile. She frowns. "Has anyone gone to check that those two crewmembers are okay?"

Lavi grins. "According to the rumor mill, they're both still alive and kicking."

Lenalee sighs in relief. "That's good."

Krory sighs. “This voyage seems never ending. Does anyone know how much longer it’s going to take to get to our destination?” He asks hopefully.

“About 49 days last I heard,” Lavi tells him, and Krory slumps in his seat. “And before then we’ll have to stop for supplies at some point.” Lavi clears his throat. “By the way, have any of you seen Timcanpy?” He asks awkwardly.

“You _ lost _ him?! _ Lavi!” _ Lenalee exclaims.

Miranda and Krory look at him accusingly with tears shining in their eyes.

“Woah, you guys! First off, I didn’t _ lose _ him, he flew out of my pocket while I wasn’t looking. Second off, I’m sure he’s fine. Timcanpy can take care of himself. I mean, it’s not like there are any cats on board, right?”

“Lavi, there are at least three cats on board.” Lenalee deadpans.

Lavi laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head. “Alright, so we’ll look for him.”

Miranda looks thoughtful. “I-Is anyone else curious about who saved that other crewmember?”

Lavi grins. “Well, according to the rumor mill we’re either haunted or being watched over by a guardian angel.” He says, pointing above his head to indicate a halo.

“Haunted…” Miranda trails off. Her face takes on an uncertain, hopeful cast. “C-Could it be Allen, do you think?” 

Krory’s eyes light up. “Yes, Allen! It has to be!” They look at each other with hope filled eyes, and Lavi sighs, running his hand through his hair.

“Look guys, it was just a rumor. It doesn’t have any evidence based on fact. You shouldn’t get your hopes up.” Lavi says. _ I know I won’t_

“But… the floating!” Krory exclaims.

Lavi sighs. “That kid could be an Akuma for all we know.” _ Or even a new Innocence accommodator. _ “It’s a much more reasonable explanation than ghosts and guardian angels.” 

Miranda and Krory look at him stubbornly.

Lenalee, who had remained silent up until this point, says quietly. “Guys… we saw the body.” Lavi shivers, feeling cold to the bone. “There was… no way to recover from that. There’s no way it’s him.” And Lenalee gets up from the table, looking pale. Lavi says quick goodbyes to the others and follows her into the latrine. He rubs her back as she vomits into a toilet, holding her hair back for her. When she’s done Lavi hands her a glass of water, and she smiles gratefully at him.

“It was like this last time, too.” Lavi observes.

Lenalee nods, smile sad. “Yeah, it was.”

_When they had gone looking for their friend, they hadn’t been expecting to find his body. The stink of rotten flesh, feces, and rotten eggs permeated the air when they had arrived at the place where Timcanpy’s recording had ended. Lenalee and Lavi had looked at each other with apprehension in their eyes. Lenalee had gone first. What she had seen had made her stagger aside and vomit onto the ground. Lavi had stepped forward and seen something he had hoped to never see again._

_Allen’s body was bloated and stiff, with a distinctly purple tone to his skin, bodily fluids leaking out of his nose and ears. Flies buzzed around him, maggots feasting on his flesh. Lavi felt sick. He didn’t want to believe what he had seen. _

_But he had to._

_He went over to Lenalee and started to rub her back, belatedly holding her hair back from the line of fire._

_When she was done, Lenalee turned toward him. “Lavi. How could this have happened?” She asked, tears streaking down her face._

_Lavi blinked his eye, fighting back tears of his own. “I don’t know, Lenalee. I don’t know.” Lenalee hugged him, shaking as tears wracked her body. Lavi laid his head against her shoulder to mask his own tears, holding onto her tightly._

_When they pulled away, Lavi looked down to see a playing card lying on the ground between them. His brows furrowed. “What’s this?” He picked it up. It was the Ace of Spades. _

_Lavi looked around and noticed the playing cards scattered all around. He gave a sad smile. “C’mon, let’s pick these up.” They picked up the cards, Lavi keeping the Ace of Spades while Lenalee kept the Queen._

Lavi blinks himself out of his memories as he smiles at Lenalee. “C’mon, let’s get outta here.”

Lenalee and Lavi both stand and make their way out of the latrine. Lavi shivers. It’s still so cold. Lavi’s about to ask Lenalee if she wants to go on deck when an explosion rocks the ship. “Woah!” Lavi grabs onto the wall as the floor dips from underneath his feet. They look at each other, Lenalee activating her boots.

“Akuma.”

* * *

  


Allen follows Lavi and Lenalee as they ascend staircase after staircase towards the deck of the ship. Timcanpy wriggles from inside the collar of his shirt, poking his head out to see what’s going on. Luckily he’s invisible as well, mostly because of a few… incidents after he had left Lavi for Allen. 

Allen shakes his head to clear it, his feet making no sound to accompany Lenalee’s and Lavi’s footsteps as they pound up the stairway and onto the deck. The ship is in total chaos, crewmembers running every which way in order to avoid the attacks raining down on them. A woman trips and a bullet rips through her stomach. She screams, stars travelling up her neck and down her arms. But then there’s a flash of gold and the sound of a clock striking twelve, and the stars retreat from her skin, the wound in her stomach closing as if it never were. 

But Allen knows the wound is still there. And so does she, judging by the grim, determined look on her face. Lenalee kicks off with her boots, only to flip backwards in mid air as deadly streams of light streak past her, breaking into the deck of the ship and making it rock dangerously under Allen’s feet. Then the ship forcibly rights itself, the breaks in the wood sealing over with flashes of golden light. “Lavi, where are the Akuma?” Lenalee yells over the screams of the crewmen.

“I don’t know!” Lavi yells back, ducking behind his enlarged hammer as beams of light strike against it.

Allen’s eye has been activated since the Akuma arrived. So he knows, with perfect black and white clarity, that the Akuma are hiding up above the clouds. But he has no way to communicate this to them. Maybe he could grab Lavi’s arm and make him point to where they are? But that seems inefficient, plus what if Lavi’s arm gets blown off or something?

“Well, try flying up there to see!” Lavi says. Lenalee nods, a determined expression on her face. Kicking off higher into the air, she flies at a fast rate towards the Akuma. Allen kicks off into the air and follows. But he doesn’t get far.

**“Title: The Girl and the Sky.”** Allen hears the familiar sound of an Akuma’s voice, like static over a radio. 

Then Lenalee screams as she hurtles down from the sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry, I promise the next chapter will be much more exciting! ^^


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! 
> 
> Here's chapter two!
> 
> Trigger Warnings for suicidal thoughts/ideation, violence and gore.
> 
> Enjoy! ^^

** night two • determination**

* * *

Lenalee struggles to break free of the Akuma on top of her, the deck of the ship approaching faster than she would like. A coldness overtakes her even as the wind rakes through her hair, knifing straight through her clothes, making her eyes water from the force of it. She wonders if she’ll see Allen soon. And maybe she even deserves to. But she can’t give up so easily. Everyone is counting on her.

With an awkward twist of her body she breaks free, feeling something give in her wrist as she does so. But it’s soon washed away by golden light, and she floats for a moment before her feet land on the deck of the ship, unharmed.

Lenalee meets Lavi’s eye. “Well, it looks like we found an Akuma.”

* * *

Lavi performs a fire stamp directly at the Akuma’s face, and Allen watches in shock as it does absolutely no damage.  **“Title: The Fire Gets Put Out.”** The Akuma says, then grabs the handle of Lavi’s hammer from its end and turns it sharply sideways, towards the railing of the ship. 

“Woah!” Lavi gets thrown along with the end of his hammer until he’s hanging over the railing by the handle. The Akuma lets go. The weight and shape of Lavi’s hammer works against him, the hammer overbalancing, causing him to fall into the crashing waves below. 

Allen looks from Lenalee, now facing off with the Akuma, to Lavi, struggling to stay afloat in the crashing waves below. He bites his lip, hesitating. He looks from Lenalee to Lavi, conflicted. Finally, he makes his choice. He can’t do anything for Lenalee. But he can actually help Lavi. Meanwhile Krory and Miranda have come up on deck, Krory helping Lenalee while Miranda stays in the background. Allen sighs, looking away.

He floats towards Lavi reluctantly, loathe to take his eyes off of the rest of his friends. But before he can fully reach him, a beam of bright light comes crashing down towards him. Allen sees Lavi’s eye widen. “No!” Allen yells, holding out his hand as he streaks towards him. Lavi flinches as the beam comes down on him. Then they both look in surprise at the Innocence green shield hovering above him, the beam being harmlessly absorbed into the shield. Allen looks down at his hand, a shimmering green glow surrounding his palm. He smiles.

_ I guess I’m not quite as powerless as I thought. _

Allen floats over to Lavi and dips down into the water, slinging him over his shoulder. He floats up out of the water, water dripping off of Lavi in sheets. 

“Thanks,” Lavi says, coughing, “do you have that shield in a more maneuverable size? Just asking. Y’know, for safety purposes.”

Allen rolls his eyes, shaking his head with a smile. He purses his lips, then concentrates. The shield becomes larger and slightly domed around them, and when Allen starts to fly, the shield moves with them. He makes slow progress, having to concentrate on keeping the shield up while the Akuma fire at them and flying at the same time. He soon develops a splitting headache, his whole body feeling like it’s on fire while a sharp pain pulses inside his chest, and he doesn’t realize his nose is bleeding until Lavi asks, “hey, are you alright? You’re dripping green goo all over me.”

Allen blinks and notices for the first time that his nose is running. Reaching over while still carefully balancing Lavi on his shoulder, he wipes his lip and finds this green viscous liquid on the back of his hand.  _ Is that blood? _ Shaking his head to clear it, he keeps flying, bullets and beams of light raining down on his shield, Lavi blocking the rest with his hammer. He finally makes it to the deck of the ship and sets Lavi down as gently as he can.

He wants so badly to collapse right then and there, when golden light washes over him, renewing him and suffusing him with energy. He wipes at his lip, but the blood is no longer there. Shaking his head, he looks for his friends. He needs to know what’s happening to them. 

He turns. Krory rushes in, going for the Akuma’s throat with his fangs bared. The armored Akuma laughs, slapping him away with ease, sending him slamming into the railing of the ship with a crack of abused wood. Lenalee appears lightning quick in front of them, almost too fast for Allen's eyes to follow. She brings up her leg and kicks them in the face, a fierce look in her eyes. The Level Three smiles widely, their multitude of eyes focusing on her, grabbing her ankle to trap her and punching her right in the face. Lenalee’s head snaps back, and she glares up defiantly at the Akuma. 

“You can do it, Lenalee.” An eerie voice says encouragingly somewhere off to the right of Lavi. Allen looks, but he can’t see who it is.

Another voice says exasperatedly, “can’t you just be quiet so we can see who wins?”

“There’s no need for me to be quiet. I think it’s obvious even to you that my sister will win.” The other voice says.

The second voice sighs. “Whatever you say.”

Allen frowns.  _ Sister? _

Lavi grips his hammer and starts heading towards her. Lenalee’s boots glow Innocence green, large bells appearing at the heels, and she does a backflip, kicking the Level Three in the chest with her other foot. The Akuma is sent flying backwards at incredible speed out over the ocean, forced to let go of Lenalee’s foot. Lenalee finishes the backflip, landing on both feet. Allen winces, rubbing at his left eye as the scar throbs in pain. Allen sighs.

This is just great.

Lavi grins, striding over and giving Lenalee a high five. “Nice one, Lena!”

Lenalee smiles, however her face soon turns grim as she looks out over the ocean. “Don’t congratulate me yet, Lavi. This isn’t over.” Out over the ocean, the Level Three hovers, waiting. Rubbing her abused cheek, Lenalee spits out a gobbet of blood onto the deck with a fierce look on her face. “Leave me behind. I’ll catch up with you.” She says, jumping up onto the ship’s railing. Beside her, a man in his late teens or early twenties with short curly dark hair and midnight blue eyes appears, looking back at Allen and smiling devilishly, a white glow surrounding him. Lenalee kicks off from the railing of the ship and into the air, towards the Akuma. The ghost disappears.

Lavi whistles, impressed. “And that’s why you don’t mess with Lena.” He says sagely.

Allen nods in agreement, rubbing his eye with a grimace.

Lavi looks around. “Hey buddy, you still there?”

Allen frowns in confusion. Is he talking to him? Tapping his lips in thought, Allen comes up with an idea. Doesn’t Lavi know morse code? He thinks he does. They had talked about it once during Lavi’s many trips to the library.

Hesitating for a moment, he walks up to Lavi and starts tapping out a message onto his forearm. Lavi looks down at it in confusion for a moment before his face lights up in realization.

_ Yes, I’m here. _

“Oh, good. And thanks again for helping me out earlier, you really saved my hide.”

Allen smiles bashfully.  _ It was nothing, really. _

Lavi shrugs. “Well, whatever. Do you have anything in your arsenal that can take out those Akuma up there?” He asks, gesturing up towards the sky with his free arm, hammer in hand.

Allen purses his lips. He frowns for a moment, then says,  _ I'm not sure. I’m still kind of figuring this whole thing out. _

Lavi grins. “You mean the whole ‘ghost thing?’” Lavi says jokingly.

Allen pauses. He sighs.  _ Yes. _

Lavi’s eye widens. “Wait, you mean you  _ really  _ are a-”

Bullets come raining down, and Allen brings up a shield in front of Lavi before he can think. Krory jumps into the air and slashes the bullets aside, the ship rocking while crewmembers scream in terror. 

Allen notices, however, that some of them have mobilized to protect Miranda, using themselves as human shields in order to protect her. Allen’s heart pangs when he sees the boy he had saved just yesterday jump on top of Miranda to shield her from an oncoming bullet, black stars climbing up his neck and onto his cheeks before retreating in a flash of gold. His name is Inali, Allen remembers, and the thing he loves most about him is his haircut. All of the older crewmembers tease him about it because in a fit of temper he had cut it himself in the grimy mirrors of the latrine, Anita’s well meaning ministrations afterwards only making the situation worse.

Will Allen meet Inali soon? What about all of the other crew members? Where will they go? Allen looks at all of the crewmen and women around him, getting gunned down by the Akuma left and right, the sound of gunfire echoing in his ears. Explosions rock the ship, nearly tipping it over, wooden shrapnel flying through the air. Allen clenches his fists. He feels helpless. But helplessness is never a useful emotion to feel. Fear and helplessness never got Allen, never got  _ Red _ anywhere. Anger bubbles up in Allen’s gut, his eyes steely with determination.

He had been doubting himself, he realizes. Doubting his promise to Mana. If he was no longer alive, how could he keep moving forward? All of this time, he had been hesitating, unsure what to do, on how to move forward.

_ I’m going to protect my friends. _

_ And even if I don’t have my left arm anymore, I’m still going to keep on destroying the Akuma. _

_ And for every human being who ever lived and for every life on this ship, that will be the reason I keep moving forward! _

Energy courses through Allen’s body, hot and electrifying. It pulses warm and vibrant inside his chest, a core of energy inside him that he’d not even noticed was there until this present moment. He brings up his arm and shoots that energy outwards, straight at a Level Two Akuma. The beam of green energy breaks through the clouds, and the Akuma screams in pain. Allen fires at another Akuma to the right of the one he’d already fired at, blowing off its leg. 

“Krorykins, aim for the trajectory of those blasts!” Lavi shouts.

“Right!” Krory nods, jumping up into the air with his fangs bared. With his left eye, Allen can see him land on an Akuma before quickly jumping to the next and then the next without being spotted. Allen doesn’t have time to wonder about that, because that’s when the ship starts to sink.

Miranda’s Innocence isn’t working to repair the ship. There’s some sort of Akuma ability messing with her powers. The ship is slowly sinking into the water, being pulled in by the whirlpools behind it. The bottom is becoming filled with water, and Allen can hear the screams of the crewmembers who decided to hide belowdecks. 

Allen grits his teeth and concentrates. Slowly, a glowing green shield materializes under the hull of the ship, lifting it free of the whirlpools. The energy in Allen's chest flickers like a dying flame, but he keeps going as the ship slowly pulls forward. "Hold onto something!" Mahoja shouts from the helm, turning the wheel sharply, but it's not enough, and Allen is breaking. With a burst of power the shields propel the boat away from the whirlpool. Allen collapses on his hands and knees. He feels like he's breaking apart at the seams, and he looks down and sees his hand. His fingers and palms are losing shape, puddling into a green goo that drips from his arms and chest. He coughs and green blood splatters all over the deck. Golden light washes over him, and for a moment the green begins to retreat back into his skin. Then with a sharp pain in his chest it fizzles out, the light leaving his skin.

Lavi crouches down beside him, worry in his eyes as he looks at the puddles of blood. “Hey, buddy? Al? C’mon, please tell me how I can help."

Allen groans. His left eye gives another stab of pain, but he can't exactly rub it at the moment. He blinks wearily.  _ That certainly wasn't there before. _ A pinkish brown barn owl with a white heart shaped face looks up at Allen, eyes glowing an Innocence green. Allen meets his eyes. "You're…" The Innocence chirps, puffing up his chest proudly. Allen looks down as something bumps up weakly against his chest. An odd rodent-like grey-blue cat with dark spots looks up at Allen, her body slowly fading away, the glow in her eyes darkening.

But then the barn owl flutters his wings, hopping closer. He presses his head against the cat’s side, his body glowing with bright green light. The cat leans into the touch as her body slowly regains shape and color. Allen pants at the power coursing through him, breaking him apart and remaking him into something stronger than he was before. Allen brings up his hands, sighing in relief to see that there’s no longer any melting.

“Allen? Is that you?” Lavi asks, and he’s looking right at him.

“Lavi? You can see me?” Allen asks, confused and maybe a bit hopeful.

Lavi rocks back on his heels, a dumbfounded expression on his face. “It really is you.” He grins. “It’s great to have you back, Al!” He squints, eyes looking around in Allen’s general direction. “Is there any way you can make yourself a bit more… I dunno, visible?”

Allen sighs, his voice echoing eerily as he says ruefully, “Still figuring this out, remember?” So he can’t see him, then. Allen scowls at the ground, frustrated.

Lavi smiles. “That’s okay, man. We’ll figure this out, alright?” He holds out a hand for a fistbump, looking a bit uncertain. That wouldn’t do. With a smile, Allen makes himself tangible and bumps his fist with his. Big Hammer, Little Hammer hoots, tilting his head at Allen curiously. Crown Clown winds herself around the owl, rubbing her cheek against his in thanks. Allen smiles, tearing up at the sight of her. He does have his Innocence. He does.

Lavi’s hand climbs its way up Allen’s arm, quickly being joined by his other hand. Allen side eyes him. “What are you doing, Lavi? This is strange even for you.” Allen winces as Lavi inadvertently pokes him in the eye, though it doesn’t really hurt so much as feel strange. Though he’s starting to understand that he  _ can _ feel pain, at least under some special circumstances. 

Lavi laughs. “C’mon Al, gimme a break. I can’t exactly see you in order to give you a welcome back hug, can I?” Then Lavi pulls him forward by the shoulders and wraps his arms around him. Allen laughs and hugs Lavi with his arm, resting his head on his shoulder. “Brr, you’re freezing!” Lavi says with a laugh. He swallows, resting his face in Allen’s shoulder. “Welcome back, Al.” He says softly.

Allen blinks, his throat tight. Could ghosts cry? Apparently they could. “Thanks.” He swallows. “Thanks, Lavi.” 

Allen’s about to pull away when his left eye whirls to life, a throbbing agony centered deep in the left side of his face. He overbalances and falls on top of Lavi, the redhead tumbling onto the deck of the ship with a muffled yelp. Pain lances through his head, and suddenly he's not just seeing Lavi anymore.

Lenalee’s body is encased in beads, her boots transformed into a new, deadly form. And Allen can tell that, just like he was before, Lenalee is breaking. Her body is burning up from the sheer force of the speed that she’s using, her syncro rate too high for her body to handle. The Level Three is being pierced under her, barely holding her at bay. Allen tries to reach her, to stop her from doing this, but he can’t. Whatever is happening, he has no form here and is merely an observer.

_ 'Lenalee, stop! Please!' _ Allen begs.

_ 'Allen? Is it really you?' _ Lenalee asks, and Allen sees a tear roll down her cheek before being evaporated by the pressure being put on her body. Her hair and clothes are burning up, patches of exposed skin blistering and burning all over her body.  _ "I’m sorry. It’s all my fault that you’re dead. But I’m making up for it now, I promise.' _ She smiles, a look of absolute peace on her face.  _ 'I’ll see you soon.' _

_ 'Lenalee, no!' _ Allen shouts, as the Akuma is pierced by Lenalee’s feet and there’s a flash of bright green light.

Somewhere up on a grassy sward, Kanda looks up sharply in the darkness of the night, pausing in polishing his sword. “Beansprout?” Standing, he sheathes his sword in one smooth motion, the night wind blowing through his hair. He smirks. “Ha, I knew you weren't dead.”

Allen blinks, and then he’s looking through Lavi’s eyes, feeling a cold presence on top of him. “What the hell?” He asks. He lifts up his right arm, just to make sure he still can. He’s relieved when he finds that he at least can still control his own body.

“This is as weird for me as it is for you.” Lavi says, giving an awkward laugh that Allen can feel as if they were his own lips. “But hey, at least I can see you now.” Lavi frowns. “Hey, Al? I think your eye is activated.”

Allen blinks. “But all of the Akuma were destroyed!” He frowns. “Hold on, let me see if I can just-” Lifting off into the air, Allen feels the cold presence leave Lavi’s body. 

The dissonance of feeling the sensations of two different bodies at once is so distracting that at first he has no idea why Lavi is freaking out. He tilts his head. “Is something wrong?”

“Where did our- _ your _ legs go?!” 

Allen now feels his long ghostly tail swishing through the air, twisting and coiling around itself anxiously. Allen settles on the deck beside Lavi, his coils curled around him like a snake. Allen shrugs. “It does this sometimes. I’m not quite sure why.” Allen blinks, feeling as though he’s been pulled along a wire and back into his own brain. He can feel other wires too, all reaching out to different places, different people. One leads straight to Lavi, another leading to the west of them. And the last, right where the Akuma is… 

“Lenalee!” Allen shouts, lifting off into the air and grabbing Lavi with his tail.

"What the hell, Al?! What are you doing??" Lavi yells, waving his arms wildly in the air in a poor attempt at balance.

"Lenalee's in trouble! We have to go back for her." Allen says determinedly. 

Allen can feel Lavi's indecisiveness, something conflicted in his heart. Off to the west, Kanda's mind sharpens, turning towards them. Allen tries to push him away, but that only succeeds in making Kanda more stubborn. _ 'No! I can't have anyone else here… can't let anyone else see…' _ Kanda's mind pauses for a moment, before the force pushes back twice as strong as before, breaking through Allen's weakened defenses. 

_ 'You should have thought of that before you strung us up together like the world's worst puppet show.' _ Kanda says irritably, his words like an echo of Kanda himself inside Allen's mind.

_ 'Allen? Yuu?' _ Lavi asks,  _ 'what is this? Why are you both inside my head?' _

_ 'Nevermind that. What's the situation?' _ Kanda asks briskly, and Allen can almost feel the rough bark against Kanda's back from where he's leaning up against a tree, the smell of woodsmoke and the crackling of the fire nearby reaching Allen's senses.

_ 'Lenalee's in trouble. I'm not quite sure how, but I saw her fighting the Level Three Akuma out over the ocean. And I believe she might be hurt. Badly.' _ Allen says.

_ 'And the Akuma?' _ Kanda asks.

_ 'Destroyed. But now there’s another Akuma out there, a Level Two.' _

Kanda curses vehemently in Japanese. 

_ 'Are we sure he actually saw what he thinks he saw? Maybe there's another explanation.' _ Lavi says skeptically, and Allen feels a flash of annoyance.

Kanda huffs. _ 'It doesn't matter whether he saw it or not,' _ he says, for once being the mediator of the group. _ 'It's always best to check, especially in situations like this.' _

Lavi sighs. _ 'Alright, I'll go tell the others where we're going.' _

_ 'I'll join you.' _ Allen tells him, setting Lavi down on the deck. The whole conversation had gone at the speed of thought, taking place in the space of seconds. So Allen is a little surprised to hear that among all the confusion they had missed the biggest sign of Lenalee's fight with the Level Three: a bright beam of green light that had shot up into the sky not just three minutes before. Something glows out over the ocean, and while everyone is clamouring to get aboard Lavi's hammer, Allen flies ahead.

As he gets closer, he can see something floating above the glowing object, holding it above the water. He comes to a halt in front of a large glowing green crystal with odd, wing-like appendages. Holding onto the top of the crystal with burning hands is one of Master’s modified Akuma. And encased inside the crystal is Lenalee. Allen looks up at the Akuma. "You're one of Master's modified Akuma?"

The Akuma tilts their head.  **"Um… yes?"**

Allen gives the modified Akuma a grateful smile, even if they can't see it. "Thank you for protecting Lenalee when I couldn't."

**"It was no problem. So, I know you ghosts can't do much, but could you help me out? My hands are hurting like crazy, is there anything you can do?"** The modified Akuma asks hopefully.

"Wait, you can see me?" Allen asks, dumbfounded.

**"Of course I can! It's only the humans who can't see ghosts. Us Akuma can see you just fine."** The modified Akuma says proudly. ** "Now hurry up and give me a hand, will ya?"**

Allen frowns, then nods, determined. "I'll do my best." Examining the crystal, he blinks when a small deer with Innocence green eyes appears perched on the surface of the water, standing in front of Lenalee protectively. Allen's wild cat walks up to her, butting her head up against Dark Boot's leg. Dark Boots meets Allen's eyes, a challenge there.  _ This… this crystal. This is the Innocence's doing. _ Something painful pangs in his heart, but Allen takes a deep breath and ignores it.

Allen smiles gently at the Innocence. "It's okay. You don't have to protect her anymore. She's safe." Dark Boots meets his eyes. Then she bows low over one foreleg and disappears. Allen frowns, confused, when a beam of bright green light bursts from the top of the crystal, piercing through the clouds and making Master’s Akuma leap back in fright. Allen’s hair blows back from his face from the force of the blast, and he holds his arm up in front of his face in a futile attempt to shield his eyes from the overwhelmingly bright light. When the light dies down, the crystal melts and reforms back into Lenalee’s body, and Allen streaks forward in order to catch her as she starts to fall. He catches her, Lenalee landing on his right shoulder as he wraps his right arm around her middle. Lenalee winces in pain even in unconsciousness at the feeling of Allen’s Exorcist coat against the wounds on her skin.

Allen is forced to hold Lenalee in a fireman's carry, as much as he might not want to. He finds Lavi on his way back, alone on the end of the extended handle of his hammer. "You got her, Al?"

"You better. I won't forgive you if you drop her, you got that?" A voice says, and Allen frowns at the odd familiarity he finds with it. If only if it were said in a different tone, with slightly different words, he'd be able to recognize where he heard it from. Allen looks to the side and sees the same man he had seen before floating beside him, sharp midnight blue eyes fixed directly on Allen. Allen nods rather than responding with words. The man smirks. "Then we're good here."

"Yes, I have her. She seems injured but alright otherwise." Allen answers verbally.

Lavi blinks, and his eye widens. “Is that an Akuma?!”

Allen looks to see the Akuma still following him. They have an odd circular head with a flame-like top and an open mouth with thin upper arms, their forearms widening out and thickening, with three fingers at the end. Their humanoid body is gold with white accents, with red fish-like eyes. Their soul would probably be that of a teenage boy, if he wasn’t corrupted and trapped in bandages while screaming in agony. Allen lifts an eyebrow at them. The Akuma looks down and taps their forefingers together guiltily.

**“I sorta have a message I have to deliver from your master.”**

“From Cross?” Allen asks, surprised. What could that bastard possibly have to say to him after all of this?

“What does an Akuma have to do with your Master?” Lavi asks with a frown.

“They’re, um. Modified.” Allen explains. Lavi frowns, confused. “I’m not quite sure how, but Master has a way to modify Akuma so that their killing instincts are suppressed.”

The modified Akuma butts in. ** “I’m on your side!”** They insist.

Lavi looks a little leery. “Are you sure about this, Al?”

“I’m quite certain, yes.” Allen affirms.  _ For now, anyway. _

“Well, alright! But make one wrong move and you’re meeting the end of my hammer!” Lavi says, pointing to the Akuma. The modified Akuma throws their hands up, making an alarmed ‘Cho!’ sound. “Hey, Al. Hand over Lenalee, will ya?” Lavi asks seriously, holding out his hand for Lenalee. 

Allen eyes the other ghost, who is looking at Lavi with distrust clear in his eyes. The modified Akuma looks between the three of them nervously. “I’d rather carry her myself, if that’s alright with you.” Allen says.

The dark haired ghost flashes him a devilish smile. “Smart choice.”

Lavi shrugs. “Well alright. But people are going to see you. You know that, right?”

Allen nods determinedly. “I’m prepared for it.” 

They begin moving back towards the ship, Allen carrying Lenalee gingerly in his arm, floating upright rather than flying horizontally. He startles as he hears Lenalee groan in pain, shifting in his arm. “Lenalee?” He asks.

Lenalee jolts as if she’d been electrocuted, grabbing fistfuls of Allen’s Exorcist coat in her hands. She suddenly twists in Allen’s arm so that she’s facing his front, and Allen cries out in alarm, forced to use his ghostly tail to support the rest of her weight. Lenalee has a look of disbelief on her face. She plants her hand on Allen’s chest and then moves it upwards. She explores past his chin, touching his lips before her hand cups his left cheek. She sobs, wrapping her arms around Allen and burying her face in his chest.

When she’s all sobbed out she finally looks up, her eyes red and her face streaked with tears. “Is it really you, Allen?” She asks, painfully hopeful.

Tears of his own streak down Allen’s face, and he says, throat tight. “Yes. It’s me, Lenalee.”

Lenalee smiles and wraps her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. “Thank god… you’re okay.”

The dark blue eyed ghost flickers in beside them, his sharp eyes amused. “You sure seem to be getting awfully cozy with my sister. When’s the wedding?” He teases.

Allen rolls his eyes at him but otherwise doesn’t respond.

“Hey, Lena.” Lavi says with a wave.

Lenalee looks at Lavi through Allen’s shoulder. “Lavi, did you know about this?” She accuses, angry and hurt.

Lavi holds up his hands from where he’s sitting partially sideways on the handle of his hammer. “Don’t look at me, I only found out about this tonight. Al was a huge help in fighting those Akuma who were up in the clouds.”

Lenalee frowns. “Why didn’t you just use your wood seal, Lavi?”

Lavi blinks, then facepalms, leaving a red mark on his forehead. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“To be fair, no one else thought of it either.” Allen defends. “Come on, let’s get everyone back to the ship.”

* * *

When they get back to the ship, it’s to find Miranda and Krory in tears as they watch Lenalee get put back on the ship, Anita and Mahoja beside them. When Allen sets her down, he quickly has to grab her again as her legs fall out from under her. “Whoa, you okay there, Lenalee?” Lavi asks, concerned.

Lenalee nods with a small smile. “Yeah, my legs just feel a little weak.”

Miranda looks over in Allen’s direction with tears overflowing in her eyes. “Lenalee, i-is that-?”

Allen smiles and waves in their direction, even though they can’t see it. “Hello, everyone. It’s nice to meet you all again in person.” 

As one, Miranda and Krory burst into tears. They step forward and hug Allen, squishing Lenalee in the process. It’s only when Lenalee yelps that they step back. “Oh, Lenalee, you’re injured!” Miranda frets.

“Where’s Bookman?” Krory asks. “He could help her, couldn’t he?”

“He’s been busy being horribly seasick.” Lavi tells them. “I hope the battle didn’t make it any worse.”

“Well, seasickness or not, I believe there’s a young girl in desperate need of some healing.” Bookman says from behind Lavi. Lavi turns to look at him, revealing him to Allen. Bookman’s eyes look right at him, and he says, “ah, the Destroyer of Time. How do you feel, having cheated time itself?”

“Well he is good at cheating,” Lavi says, and Allen whaps him with his tail.

Allen frowns, feeling uncomfortable under his gaze. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“No, I’m sure you don’t.” Bookman says, turning away.

Lavi looks between them, and Allen can sense the conflicting emotions inside him. “C’mon Lena, I’ll help you to our cabin.” Lavi says.

Lenalee bites her lip, conflicted. “Allen?”

“I’ll be right here, don’t worry.” Allen reassures.

Lenalee nods with a smile. “Okay.”

Allen hands Lenalee off to Lavi, where he helps her clumsily walk into the Exorcist’s cabin. Once Bookman is taking care of her, Allen and Lavi drift off to the side to give her privacy. “So what now?” Lavi asks.

“I suppose we’ll take things as they come.” Allen answers.

_ I wish I knew. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Author just realizing that Allen hasn't had the character development from Cross to make him speak more informally, and so is probably wildly out of character*
> 
> *sigh* goddamnit Allen.
> 
> So, yeah. If you noticed Allen becoming a bit more formal in chapter 2, that's why.
> 
> Also, how 'bout those revelation scenes, huh?
> 
> I actually didn't mean for Allen to be revealed this way, but the characters were like, "nope, it's gotta happen like this." So I was like, "ugh, whatever."
> 
> Also, Allen couldn't see the Innocences before because his eye wasn't leveled up far enough, in case you were wondering. ;) 
> 
> Oh, and when the rigging broke, it was because Allen was already using partial tangibility, he just didn't notice. I just thought I'd explain that. ^^
> 
> Also, how about that ghost that looks like a certain sister complex? Hmm, I wonder who he could be related to... *evil laughter*
> 
> Everything else you might have questions about will be revealed in-story, but feel free to ask or bombard me with theories! ^^
> 
> Anyway, see y'all next chap! ^^


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! 
> 
> New chapter for you, sorry for the delay!
> 
> Trigger warnings for slight self-harm, survivor's guilt, delusions and panic attacks.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! ^^

  
  
  


**night three • unbridled emotion**

* * *

Lenalee ties up her  _ Ruqun  _ loosely around her waist, the forest green sleeves going nicely with the deep red of the rest of the outfit. The silky fabric slides soothingly across her damaged skin, catching slightly on the large puffy bandages Bookman had stuck to her wounds after applying the burn paste. Even though Miranda's Innocence had healed her wounds temporarily, Bookman apparently had a good enough memory to remember where they were. The boys had left once she had started to disrobe, Bookman leaving to go get them once she had been treated. She could tell that Allen was gone, too, because the room had levelled out to a normal base temperature. 

Lenalee looks down at her hands, one bare and one covered in bandages. She clenches her fists, closing her eyes and gritting her teeth as the ghosts of pain and pleasure mix together inside her. She opens her fists when the door opens. She blinks at Bookman, who gazes at her with an unreadable look on his face. He opens the door wider, and a cold draft suddenly enters the room, and Lenalee shivers. Only, it might just be… 

“Allen?” Lenalee asks, glancing around the room. Hoping to see him, just once.

“Hi, Lenalee. How are you?” Allen’s voice echoes eerily from just beside her, and Lenalee jumps, trying to still her heart rate.

"I'm doing fine. Oh, hey Lavi!" Lenalee turns to smile at him as he walks into the room, and Lavi grins back at her. "How are the crew members?" She asks, concerned. The ship was under Akuma fire, but surely most of the crew hid belowdecks, right?

Lavi rubs the back of his head, looking away uncomfortably. "We're still doing a headcount of who's been hit and who hasn't, but so far it isn't looking good."

"How many?" Lenalee asks.

Lavi's lips thin, and he looks away.

"How many, Lavi?!" Lenalee demands.

Lavi sighs. "About 94% of the crew members were hit in the attack last night. But that's just a rough estimate. Right, Al?"

"Right," Allen says, and Lenalee feels a cold hand squeeze her shoulder. "Who knows? Perhaps when the estimate comes through there will be more people who have survived than we first thought."

Lenalee looks down at her clasped hands.  _ They're being optimistic. For me. The least I can do is be the same. _ Lenalee smiles. "Of course. I'm sure most of them will be fine in the end."

_ If only… _

"I don't mean to interrupt, but there is something I must inform you about as your acting doctor. Would you like these two idiots to leave?" Bookman asks her.

"Hey!" Lavi protests.

"That was a bit harsh…" Allen agrees from beside her. 

Lenalee shakes her head with a smile. "No, that's fine."

"Alright, well." Bookman sits down on her other side. "I did the best I could under the current circumstances, but your face will likely have permanent scarring.” Bookman says, tapping his right cheek with his finger.

Lenalee brings up a hand to where a bandage covers a burn on her cheek. Lenalee bites her lip. Permanent scarring… 

She smiles. “Well, what’s one scar next to all the others?” She asks, a bit bitterly.

She feels Allen take her hand in his and squeeze it comfortingly, and she smiles in his direction, doing the same for him. “Scars may not look pretty, but I've always thought of them as memories of the past. A scar is a mistake, and with every new mistake, you learn from it.” Allen says.

Lavi frowns. “I guess you can think of it that way if you want. I, however, like to think of them as symbols of my victory!” He says with a grin. 

“But if you’ve been wounded, haven’t you been defeated?” Allen asks skeptically.

“Shut up and let me have this!” Lavi says, leaping back from the direction of Allen’s voice.

Lenalee sighs.  _ Boys. _

Bookman heads for the door. “Well, I'm afraid I must go check on the surviving crewmembers. Lavi, try not to be too much of an idiot while I'm gone.” 

The door shuts with a click, and Lavi sighs, scratching at the side of his head. “Grumpy old panda…” He mutters, then focuses on Lenalee. He sits down next to her and gently wraps his arm around her shoulders, a brief look of surprise flashing across his face when his hand touches Allen’s shoulder on the other side. “Are you okay, Lenalee?” He asks, concerned.

Lenalee laughs. “Really, both of you. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, that’s why you used a technique that was practically suicide against that Level Three Akuma.” Lavi says harshly, and Lenalee flinches. Lavi looks across Lenalee and over in Allen’s direction. “I’m right, aren’t I Al?”

Lenalee blinks. So Allen hadn’t told Lavi. Told him what he had seen while those strange connections had been stringing together, one by one, inside her head. 

Allen sighs, his hand leaving hers. Lenalee feels cut adrift with its absence. “Yes, you are.” He says, and she senses a heavy guilt clouding his heart. Lenalee blinks back tears. She didn’t mean to make him feel guilty too.

“Allen, I-” Her voice breaks, her eyes filling up with tears. When she blinks, the tears roll down her face. “I should have been the one that died. Not you, Allen. Never you.” Lenalee breaks down into broken, messy sobbing. Lenalee feels a cold arm wrap around her, pressing close, while Allen’s tail coils up in her lap, spilling over onto the seat. Lavi leans in next to her, stroking her shortened hair. Lenalee leans her head on Allen’s shoulder and lets herself cry for just a minute. But only for a minute. She’s cried too much already to allow herself too many tears.

She pulls herself together, her nose stuffed up and her eyes sore. Lavi offers her a handkerchief, which she accepts, thoroughly embarrassed. Allen leans back and touches the uninjured side of her face, and Lenalee can almost imagine him smiling  _ that _ smile. The smile that he uses for others rather than himself.

“It wasn’t your fault, Lenalee. The chips fall and the cards are drawn and sometimes you happen to get a bad hand. That’s just how life works.” He pauses, and Lenalee can almost imagine him gifting her that smile that always meant that everything would be okay. “But Lenalee, I'm still here. Here with you and everyone else. So perhaps the hand that was drawn wasn't so bad after all.”

"But you're dead. Doesn't that bother you?" Lenalee asks.

"It bothers me more that it bothers you." Allen says sadly.

"Yeah, c'mon Lena. Lighten up! At least now we all get to be scar buddies!" Lavi says boisterously. 

Lenalee snorts out a laugh. "We get to be what?"

"Scar buddies! You with your cheek, me with my eye, and Allen with his curse mark. Trust me, it'll be great!" 

Allen floats off of Lenalee, and she can feel him bump into her as he settles beside her. "That doesn't sound like the best idea, Lavi."

"Aww, c'mon! Why not?" Lavi whines.

Lenalee laughs. "It's fine with me." She says with a smile. _ I'm probably going to regret this later. _

Allen is silent for a second, before he says, "I suppose that's alright. But I refuse to respond to any nicknames."

Lavi deflates. "Aw."

* * *

Master's modified Akuma tells them Cross's message. Despite this, they decide to keep making their way towards Edo. 

"What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" Allen asks them, and the Akuma takes on a considering look.

**"Sachiko is the name of my body."** They tell him.

Allen frowns. That sounds like a female name. But their soul is male. Would that… bother them? "What's the name of your soul?" Allen asks cautiously.

Sachiko cringes and looks down at their hands, tapping their fingers together nervously.  **"I'd rather not talk about that. It's… painful, ya know?"**

Allen doesn't really, but he nods and changes the subject. Apparently Sachiko goes by male pronouns most of the time. Allen confides about his own birth gender, and Sachiko immediately brightens.  **"Well, I don't wanna talk about my own name, but… you could name me if you wanted to, Allen."** Sachiko says.

Allen blinks, and for a moment he sees the flash of an Akuma skeleton's face, the words  _ Mana Walker _ engraved on its forehead. 

He brings up his hand to the curse scar on his face, before dropping it quickly. "I'd really rather not," Allen answers, shaking his head with a small smile. He points his thumb back towards Lavi and Lenalee, leaning against the railing of the ship while talking quietly to each other. "Lavi or Lenalee could do it, though."

Sachiko pouts. **"I was letting you do it, though. And to just shrug it off so easily…"** he grumbles, arms crossed over his chest.

Allen laughs, throwing his hand up abortively before rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Sorry."

**"Alright, well. Let's see, how about… you!"** He points at Lavi, and Lavi jerks in surprise with his eyes wide, his hand reaching for the hammer at his hip.

"What are you looking for, virgin sacrifices?" Lavi asks, then pauses. "Er, not that  _ I'm _ a virgin. You were obviously pointing at Lenalee, right Lena?" He says, elbowing her in the side with a grin.

Lenalee grins right back. "Lavi, who says  _ I'm _ a virgin?" She teases.

The ghost with short curly black hair and midnight blue eyes flickers into view beside her, and next to Lavi appears a tall man with long reddish brown hair, grey-blue eyes and a pair of round wireframe glasses. Crown Clown appears in front of Allen, twice her normal size as her tail flicks back and forth agitatedly, her ears flattened against her skull. Iron Hammer, as Allen has learned he's called, perches on Lavi's shoulder, eyes watchful. And both of their gazes are currently locked on the ghost next to Lenalee.

Said ghost smiles fondly at her. "Be careful saying that around Komui, little sister." He reaches over to ruffle her hair, and the strands moved as if by an unfelt wind. They  _ moved. _

Allen supposes he shouldn't be surprised. If he wasn't powerless then not all ghosts must be, either. But that draws the question: if not all ghosts are powerless, how hasn't the Black Order found out about them yet? 

“Make sure not to talk that way around Komui, Lena.” Lavi says, laughing nervously and inadvertently echoing the ghost's own words.

“Yes, please don’t. Knowing him, he’d probably pin the blame on one of us.” Allen says jokingly.

Lavi shudders. “Don’t joke about that, man. You’ll give me nightmares.”

_ ‘Quit being such a fucking wimp, you stupid Rabbit.’ _ Allen blinks and then Kanda is standing beside him. He looks oddly see through, though not like the other ghosts that he’s seen. 

And Lavi and Lenalee are looking right at him.

And then Kanda turns and meets Allen’s eyes and smirks.  _ ‘Glad to see you mostly in one piece, ‘sprout.’ _

“Kanda!” Lenalee says ecstatically, running forward to give him a hug. But her body passes right through him, and Lenalee gasps in surprise, turning to meet Kanda’s eyes.

“Wait, you can see him? How? And how did you get here?” Lavi questions Kanda, a calculating glint in his eye.

Kanda’s eyebrows furrow, and he scowls.  _ ‘Why wouldn’t I be able to see him? He’s standing right over there.’ _ He says, gesturing towards Allen.

“Well,  _ we _ can’t.” Lavi says, running his fingers through his hair.

**“Er… who are you guys talkin’ to?”** Sachiko asks, glancing around while hovering just above the deck of the ship.

Allen looks over at Kanda with a slight frown. “Perhaps we should take this somewhere a bit more private.” He suggests.

“That’s probably for the best.” Lavi agrees.

* * *

Kanda Yuu has no fucking idea how he got here and has no clue about how to return. The last thing he remembers is going into a meditative state before everything went to hell. He felt like he’d been pulled straight out of his body, along a tangled cord of mixed consciousness's that lead who the fuck knew where, before being dumped straight onto the deck of a ship, with all of his friends standing around him. 

At first Kanda had thought that these new abilities might be useful in combat situations. But this. This malfunctioning bullshit does not bode well.

Kanda had wanted answers first, but they had all been particularly sparse when it came to details about what the fuck they had meant when they said they  _ couldn’t see Allen. _ So Kanda had been forced to give up what he knew about how he had gotten here, and now here they were, sitting in the Exorcist’s cabin with a crudely made  _ do not disturb _ sign courtesy of the beansprout hanging on the doorknob outside. 

Lavi places a hand over his chin thoughtfully. “Maybe if we all learn meditation like you, Yuu, then we can accomplish this ability the same way you have.”

Kanda scoffs, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms over his chest.  _ ‘That doesn’t exactly help me get back into my body, does it?’ _

Lavi waves a hand dismissively. “Eh, we can figure all that out later. Besides, didn’t you miss us, Yuu?” He teases.

Kanda smiles devilishly.  _ ‘Well I sure didn’t miss you.’ _

Lavi staggers back in his seat with a hand over his heart. “I am wounded, Yuu!  _ Wounded!” _

Lenalee smiles fondly at them both, then asks with concern, “are you okay, Kanda? You’re not wounded or currently feeling any pain? Is everything going well on your end?”

Kanda turns away from her.  _ ‘Che. Everything’s fine. Stop worrying so much.’ _

Lavi frowns thoughtfully. “Is anyone else wondering why only Kanda can see Allen?” He asks.

Lenalee nods. “Yeah. What reason could there be for him to see Allen that we can’t?”

Allen taps his lips in thought. “I’m not sure. Is there anything particularly different about you that could give you these abilities?” Allen asks, turning to Kanda.

_ Something different, huh? _

Kanda touches the curse mark on the left side of his chest, and he laughs.  _ ‘Whatever it is, it’s nothing good.’ _

* * *

They take a break for lunch after that, or Lavi and Lenalee do. Kanda is stuck hiding in the Exorcist’s cabin, waiting for them to come back, and for some reason, Allen stays with him. It makes no fucking sense, because the beansprout usually eats enough food for four people at once. But then Kanda realizes. He doesn’t have his Innocence anymore. He wonders if that put him off of food a bit.

Kanda used to really dislike the beansprout. But ever since the Black Order invented their communication earrings, they had talked nearly every night, and the beansprout had begun to grow on him, whether Kanda liked it or not.

So it is that while the other two Exorcists are eating in the Mess Hall, Allen has his cold as hell head laid in Kanda’s lap while he squeezes Timcanpy in his hand like a stress ball. Timcanpy seems to be humoring the mistreatment for Allen’s sake.  _ ‘So why aren’t you at the mess?’ _ Kanda asks, looking down at him.

Allen sighs, looking slightly sad. “I’m not sure. It’s just… ever since I lost my Innocence, I haven’t been particularly hungry.”

With a hint of a smile on his face Kanda leans down, kissing his forehead. Allen smiles. “What was that for?”

Kanda smiles slightly. _ ‘For being an idiot.’ _

Allen laughs. “Alright, I suppose I can’t argue there.” He says sarcastically. He tilts his head, his eyes oddly cat-like. “So how are Marie and Daisa doing?” Kanda shrugs, leaning back in his seat and smirking when Allen flails for balance so as not to fall off of the couch. Allen glares at him, punching him lightly in the chest. Kanda pokes his forehead with a devilish grin and Allen slaps his hand away with a laugh. “So, your brothers?” He asks breathlessly.

Kanda blinks, then scoffs.  _ ‘They're fine. Daisa's just as much of a jerk as he always is, and Marie is just as overbearing as Tiedoll.' _

Allen smiles up at him, entwining his fingers with Kanda's own. "I don't believe a word of that."

Kanda snorts, looking away. _ 'Whatever.' _

"So where are you headed?" Allen asks, changing the subject. Timcanpy flaps his wings before landing on Allen's chest, curling up there and relaxing into sleep. Allen lets go of Kanda's hand for a moment to stroke a finger between Timcanpy's horns, and Tim rolls over onto his side with sleepy 'grah,' and Allen smiles and rubs his stomach.

Timcanpy settles back on Allen's chest with a satisfied sigh, and Allen holds his hand over him. Kanda sighs.  _ 'We're currently looking for a ship that will take us from Korea to Edo, Japan. So far, it hasn't panned out.' _

Allen shrugs. "Well, the whole country is under Sakoku* because of the Earl. I believe anyone would be wary of going, especially considering that this job sounds a bit like a one way trip for most people."

Kanda scowls down at him.  _ 'Then how the hell did you get on a ship?' _

Allen laughs, reaching up to touch Kanda’s chin. “The benefits of being Cross Marian’s apprentice, I suppose.”

Kanda catches his hand.  _ ‘And here I thought there weren’t any.’ _

“Well there wasn’t, until now.” Allen says with a smile.

Lavi and Lenalee suddenly burst into the room, looking happy and content. It makes Kanda wonder if somewhere, his body is slowly starving. What do Marie and Daisa think? That old man must be worried sick.

Not that Kanda cares.

“Hey, Yuu!” Lavi says, throwing up a peace sign. He leans down to sit next to Kanda, and Kanda kicks out a leg to plant his foot on Lavi’s ass. It takes him a moment to be surprised that it actually worked. Is he gaining in strength?

_ ‘Hey, watch it.’ _ Kanda snaps.  _ ‘Allen is laying here.’ _

“Sorry, Lavi.” Allen says, an apologetic look on his face.

Lavi’s smile turns devious. “You mean he’s lying in your lap? Oh, how swee-”

Lenalee bonks him on the head before Kanda can launch him straight into the sun, so Kanda decides to be lenient.

“Ow! Lenalee, he kicked my butt!” Lavi whines.

“Yeah, but you sort of deserved it, so I’m letting it slide.” Lenalee says, settling in the seat beside Kanda. 

Allen sits up and scooches over beside Kanda. “Okay Lavi, I’ve moved, so you can sit here if you like.”

Lavi waves a hand. “Nah, I think I’ll sit over here.” He plops down into the armchair across from them.

Kanda sighs.

Allen seems to be in deep thought, and he finally nods to himself, as if making a decision.

Allen takes a deep breath. “So, are we ever going to talk about this whole… mind link thing?” He asks, and Kanda hates him for acting so calm. Because the emotions raging inside of Allen are nothing like the calm, curious mask he’s wearing, and Kanda hates him for it. Hates the lies, the deceit.

But he can no longer lie to Kanda. Because he can hear his emotions whispering to him, as if they were right near his ear.

// _ fear _ // _ sadness _ // _ love _ // _ determination _ // 

Lenalee hesitates, her heart splintering alongside Allen’s own. “I’m… not really sure how to feel about it, to be honest. It’s just… there, and it’s not going away, so I can’t get rid of it and have things go back to normal like I want them to.”

Lavi shrugs, none of the conflict or guilt inside him showing on his face as he says, “I’m pretty curious about it, to be honest. I’d like to study it to see how it ticks.” // _ dislike _ // Lavi’s emotion’s whisper. Kanda blinks, and then raises an eyebrow. Lavi sighs, running his hands through his hair. “I also… don’t really like it much. But that doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.”

Kanda leans back in his seat when it’s his turn, looking Allen’s way.  _ ‘It might be useful in combat situations, but otherwise I don’t give a shit. _ ’ 

Allen smiles with a shrug. “It doesn’t really bother me either way.”

Kanda knows that that’s a lie, from his very first time doing this… whatever this is.

Kanda hears Allen get up from beside him and kneel down in front of him. Kanda looks down into his eyes. // _ fear _ // _ guilt _ // _ determination _ // _ guilt _ // _ determination _ // _ determination _ // Allen’s emotions whisper.

Allen takes a deep breath and looks into his eyes. “Kanda, there’s something I have to tell you.”

Kanda dips his head. Somehow, he knew it would come to this. That there was something more to Allen losing his Innocence. _ ‘Whatever it is, I can handle it.’ _ Kanda promises, taking Allen’s hand in his.

“Kanda, I’m… I’m a ghost.” Allen says, and for a moment it feels like Kanda’s heart stops beating.

_ ‘You’re… what?’ _ Kanda says, his voice unsteady, the whole world distant around him except for Allen and the words leaving his lips.

Allen breaks Kanda’s hold on his hand to run his hand through his hair. He places his hand back on Kanda’s knee and he grabs it readily. But Allen’s hand is so cold. Why had he dismissed that before? “I’m  _ dead _ , Kanda. And I’m not coming back. Not the way you think I will. And… I’m sorry.” His voice breaks, but despite this, he still smiles  _ that fucking smile _ at Kanda.

Kanda scowls.

_ ‘So what?’ _

Allen blinks. “What?”

Kanda grabs Allen by his Exorcist coat and stands, bringing him up with him. He scowls darkly.  _ ‘So what if you’re a ghost, or dead or whatever. That doesn’t mean I’m going to give up on you, and you’re stupid to think I was!’ _

“Yeah, we never gave up on you, ‘sprout. Why would Yuu?” Lavi butts in.

“But it’s different with us. We have a bit of a closer relationship than we have with you two. Though I’m not exactly sure what to call it…” Allen trails off.

“Romantic friends?” Lavi suggests. 

Kanda shoots him a glare, and Lavi shuts up with terrified ‘meep.’ Kanda looks back at Allen and lets go of him, only for Allen to keep his current height by floating in the air. A long, dark snake-like tail forms out of his legs and feet, colored with irregular splotches of silver down its length that fade to dark grey around the edges, the tail waving back and forth to keep him aloft.

He’ll… ask about this later.

_ ‘But you’re still here, right? You’re still whole, no matter what you’ve lost. So quit being such and idiot and get this through your thick skull. I’m not going anywhere but with you.’ _ Kanda says with a slight smile, the smile that can only be caused by the beansprout.

Allen laughs, flying forward to wrap his right arm around him, leaning his head against Kanda’s shoulder, glowing green tears soaking into his uniform. “I suppose I have been a bit of an idiot… can you forgive me?” Allen asks.

Kanda wraps one arm around him, reaching the other up to stroke Allen’s hair. It’s longer now, he notices, just reaching his shoulders, his bangs rounded and meeting in the middle. _ ‘Always.’  _ Kanda says, leaning down to kiss the top of his head.

“Ugh. We’re still here, y’know.” Lavi says, making an ‘ick’ face. Kanda opens his mouth for a retort when Lenalee leans forward and bonks Lavi on the forehead. “Ow! Why only me, Lena?!” Lavi yells, rubbing at his abused forehead.

Lenalee shrugs. “You’re the only one I can see or touch.” She says pragmatically.

“So what now?” Allen asks.

And Lavi grins.

* * *

Allen refuses to go with Lavi’s proposed plan of action. Which is, namely, to hold a meeting in which to discuss very personal facts about Allen’s afterlife… as well as his death. So Allen had proposed a different plan in which they try to send Kanda back to his own body through meditation. At first it didn’t seem to be working. But then with a flash of light, he was gone.

Allen goes outside of the Exorcist’s cabin, simply phasing through the wall so as not to startle anyone, to see Lavi already outside talking to Sachiko in human form. Allen drifts closer, passing by crewmembers working the ship as he hears Lavi say, “well then you can borrow some of mine! I’m sure they’ll fit you.”

“That sounds great! Thanks a bunch!” Sachiko says, making an excited ‘cho!’ sound.

Figuring that they were talking about clothes, but not sure how much Sachiko had told Lavi, Allen says, “and you could try wearing some of my clothes too, if you like.” Lavi jumps at the sound of his voice right next to him, and Allen resists the urge to sigh.

Lavi turns towards him seriously and leans towards him, his face grave. He whispers against Allen’s cheek, _ “go rainbows.” _ He leans back and after Allen is silent for several seconds with a befuddled expression on his face, Lavi turns back to Sachiko and makes a cutting motion across his throat.

Sachiko sighs, exasperated. “Lavi, he’s not gonna understand a code word that you just made up five minutes ago.”

Lavi blinks. “You mean he knows?”

Sachiko nods. “Yeah. Um… no, nevermind.”

“So have you decided upon a name?” Allen asks.

Lavi nods with a grin. “I was thinking Chomesuke. Because he makes those ‘cho,’ sounds sometimes, y’know?” Lavi turns to Chomesuke. “What do you think? Do you like it?”

Chomesuke smiles. “I-” he pales as a ghost flickers in front of him, dark malevolent energy coming off of it in waves. And Allen recognizes that ghost.

It’s Lenalee’s brother.

“I think we should move!” Chomesuke screams, transforming and grabbing onto Lavi’s arm, the ghost’s arm coming down and decimating the planks of wood right where Chomesuke had been standing. Lenalee’s brother streaks after them, only to collide in mid air with Allen. They go spinning through the air, Allen kicking the other ghost right in the stomach.

But then the ghost laughs. “Your mistake.” Allen meets his eyes, a devious smile on the ghost’s face, and his heart drops like a stone. “You’re much more powerful than me. So I think I’ll just do… this!” And then the ghost twists, his body entering Allen’s own. Pain suffuses Allen’s veins, and he screams as he holds a hand over his stomach, feeling a foreign will trying to overcome his own.

“Get. Out. Of. Me!” Allen screams, and forcibly ejects the ghost straight out of his body. He pants, falling to the deck of the ship.

The ghost lands in front of him with a grin. “That’s a lot of willpower you’ve got there. Too bad you don’t have enough energy to pull the same move twice.” And then he sinks down into Allen’s body, his willpower spreading through Allen’s veins like a cold poison. The last thing Allen sees before he falls unconscious is an Innocence blast being fired directly at Lavi and Chomesuke.

* * *

Allen Blackbourne has seen many things as a Bookman’s Apprentice. (‘A’ as in plural, and isn’t that just the rub). He’s seen cities rise and fall, kings slaughtered and princes crowned, endless wars that all seemed pointless in the end. When he was alive, he had thought conflict was pointless. But he had soon learned that to end a conflict, you had to start a certain conflict of your own, or else learn how to stop it before it began.

Which is why when he sees that Walker boy firing at his friends, he is a little confused. He had been happy that at least someone could find a happy ending in all of this. He had been envious of course. It would be nice to talk to Bookman face to face for once. He and his companion had agreed to give the boy space and time to adjust to his new situation. Considering their relations to his past friends, they had thought it best not to give him any more shocking revelations. 

Or at least, that’s what Allen thought they had agreed upon. But judging by his friend’s sudden occupancy of the new ghost’s body, he’d say it’s time enough to interfere.

The living and the Akuma are hiding behind a pile of crates, Lavi’s hammer fending off most of the blasts. Anita looks up from behind the crates. “Allen, stop!” She ducks down as a blast is aimed towards her, chunks of wood going flying. Lavi’s eyes are hard. “That’s not Allen anymore.” He says.

Just as a blast is firing up in ‘Rin’s hand, Allen flies in front of it and grabs him by the shoulders. “‘Rin, stop! What has gotten into you?!” 

The green energy in ‘Rin’s hand glows, before dying down. “That Akuma is going to hurt my family. I have to take it down.” He growls.

Shit. Delusions from the past, again. 

Allen takes a deep breath and lifts a hand up to grab ‘Rin’s chin while still keeping his other hand on his shoulder, flying a circle around him so that he’s facing the other way from the Akuma and the living. He smiles at ‘Rin and gestures with his head. “What’s that over there?” 

‘Rin rolls his eyes, struggling to get out of his grip. But a thirty-five year old man in good health will always be stronger than a fifteen year old, even if that fifteen year old is a former Exorcist. “I dunno, the ground, maybe?” He snarks.

“And what’s it called?”

‘Rin gives up on struggling and sags in his grip. He sighs. “The deck, why? Fucking let me go, I need to-”

“And what’s that called?” Allen interrupts.

‘Rin blinks. “The cockpit.”

“And the front of the boat?” Allen prompts.

‘Rin frowns. “The bow. And attached to the front of it is the figurehead of course, and… wait a sec. Why the fuck am I doing this? That… that Akuma wasn't gonna do shit to my family." He laughs, a bit ragged, a bit broken. "The damage is already done.” He slumps, and Walker’s body glows with a white light before ‘Rin phases free of him. 

Walker blinks, and Allen lets go of him. He looks around at the destruction with wide eyes and then glares at ‘Rin, his eyes flashing an Innocence green. “You… why would you do this?” Walker asks.

‘Rin shrugs. “Hey, it’s hardly my fault that you brought my trigger on board.”

Walker tilts his head. “‘Trigger’?”

‘Rin smiles, running a hand through his hair. “The name’s Komurin Lee, kid. And I don’t mess around when it comes to Akuma.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, evil author is evil. Even my brother, who isn't a fan of DGM, thought it was cruel of me to have Komui name his robots after his dead brother rather than himself. ^^;
> 
> And because some people seemed confused about this, the reason they now have a mind link is because of Allen's eye. In canon, Allen's eye connected him and Lenalee together while she was drowning during the fight with the Level Three, though only for a short time. And I sort of played with that idea since I don't exactly like the whole Soul Bond trope, but the idea of a mind link without any of those tropes attached to it is a cool idea. And it's plausible considering canon as well as the anime, which... isn't canon, exactly, but still.
> 
> Also that game past Allen and Komurin played to bring Komurin back to reality was basically a 'what is real' game, where you name things that are actually real instead of the things going on in your own head. It doesn't always work, but luckily this time, it did.
> 
> And as for Chomesuke being trans male... well, I have some headcanons when it comes to Akuma. For example, if an Akuma's body was female but their soul was male, that would most likely make them transgender, or at least have some conflicting feelings on the matter. You can't just put a male human's soul into female body and expect things to work out alright. That's like the definition of how trans people are assigned their gender at birth.
> 
> Alright, well, see y'all next chap! ^^

**Author's Note:**

> I feel sort of bad because I gave you guys a mostly set up chapter with a cliffhanger at the end. On the bright side, we have some fun things next chapter, and that's in the process of already being written. Also, when Allen broke through the ropes it was bc he was using partial tangibility but didn't know it! I thought I'd explain down here since there was no way to explain in-story! ^^
> 
> And don't worry, the next chapter is much more exciting!
> 
> So, yeah! See y'all next chap!


End file.
